Device for obtaining x-ray



June 13, 1950 BONNET 2,511,097

DEVICE FOR OBTAINING X-RAY PHOTOGRAPHS IN RELIEF Filed Dec. 11, 1945 5Sheets-Sheet 1 June 13, 1950 I M. BONNET 2,511,097

DEVICE FOR OBTAINING X-RAY PHOTOGRAPHS IN RELIEF Filed Dec. 11, 1945 I 3Sheets-Sheet 2 M. BONNET June 13, 1950 DEVICE FOR OBTAINING X-RAYPHOTOGRAPHS IN RELIEF 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 11, 1945 Patented June13, 1950 DEVICE FOR OBTAINING X-RAY PHOTOGRAPHS IN RELIEF MauriceyBonnctl-iaris, France, assignor to La Rclieph'ographie,. Societe ,pourlZExploitation des Procedes dc Photographic en Relief Main-ice Bonnet,Paris, France, a French corporation ApplicationDccernher 11, 1945,Serial No..,684,3.67

1 InErance June 12, 1944 In order to obtain the "impression of relief,when examining X-ray photographs,='--it is usual to examine, by means ofa stereoscope, a painof X-ray photographs taken under different anglesof incidence of the beam of X-rays. This method of observation istediousj'as the user must ascertain by trial the" correct positioniof'bothimages on-the negatoscopewhere'the negatives'are observed bytransparency??? l It has also been proposed t 'proJecton phpt sensitivesurface both radiographic negatives, constitutingthe steroscopicfcoupleofimages, through a grating having alternate opaque and transpar lines,so s, to pbia ne pqs ll e. lin image which, through a lgnown ppticalphenomenon, appears in relief when it iSJOQSGIiYEd throughan'identicalgrating, f om a distance equal to that of the position ofthe lenses, which e for the reieq p piw b esg ti eaw i,

It follows from the very conditions in which these two-imagestereographsare obtained that they n n be Obser d inerel e r m r welldefined points in space. k are only capable of giving, the per'spesubject seeiffrom a singlf poiiit of allows of onlyi'a ,veryimperrecmmprssicn or relief being obtains ,on the other hand,, 1tisflino' i t of radioscopicfimages can be obta n d b y graphing, "andeven by "aiming I fluorescent image which appears scopic screens. Butsaid image is of avery reduced luminosity, and it consequently requireseither very long time-exposures, inconsistent with the X-raying of aliving'subject, or the use of lenses of very large aperture, difiicultto produes and many case very costly, especially if the X-rayphotographis to be directly obtained of a large size, that is tosay,-capable of being immediately used. I i W The present inventionprovides meansfor obtaining radiographic images observable in' relief byreflection, that is to say, withoutlits b'eing necessary to illuminatethem'fromth'e rear. The taking of said X-ray photographs by the meansforming the subject-matter of the invention, and which isefle'cted byphotographing the radioscopic screen allows of lenses of small aperturebeing used, without thetime-exposur'e being thereby extended.'Further;'the images obtained by said new means have also thecharacteristic feature thatthey can be examined not only frompredetermined points in'space, but over an area which is comparativelyextended in width and very extendedin' depth; the -:transih'n'se moveSection}, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 f ifatenteipires June 1%, ,1964I; A

merits 'o'f the" observer, Within the limits of the res'cnt iimageappearing" on the" radio'scopic one main feature thereof consisting inwhen: recordi'ng'fofan "opti'c'al' selective grating having" rfiingnt'lenticul'ar" elements which are either cylindrical, or spherical, orcylindricaljandhiossedat 90, placed against and "in ffont" ofthes'erisitiye' surface; Another feature consists in the introduction ofa kinematic factor in the actual static arrangement of the elementsofthe fourfold'group'which cd operate for obtaining "radigra'p'hs bytaking a photograph of the screen, viz'i theRontgen lamp, the subject tobe X-rayed, the fiuorscent'screen and the photo-sensitive -surface.

"It is this'combinatio'n of a relative movement of th'eelements'referred to with the action of a recording'lenticular selector,or selectograph', that secures the advantages of the selectora'diographsobtained according to the invention. 'In fact, the properties ofthe'selectograph have in this case'a very "advantageous action, asregards both a gain in luminosity, as applied to the fiuo rescent image,the brilliancy of which cannot be increased, and a selective action,which allows of effecting a continuous succession of recordings, withoutthe helper a shutter, said continuity" being alone capable of ensuringthe modelling of the image obtained.

' The invention also relates to apparatus suitable for carrying out themethod above defined, as well as to the selectoradiographs of'particulartype obtained by means'of these apparatus, and having the propertiesmentioned.

The accompanying drawings illustrate, by way of example,three-diflerentconstructions of the apparatus. f

In all the figures, the same reference numbers have been used todesignate equivalent members, thatiisto say, having'the same function.-o'In.-.F1g'ure; .1-, l is lth rfixed frame of a firstselectoradiographic apparatus, the rear frame I of which carries in theplane of the vertical axis thereof, two journals 2, on which pivots theunit constituted by the bearing panel 11 and the plat-- form on whichthe patient is placed. Suitable devices such as straps, shown by way ofexample, allow, if necessary of holding the subject fixed in theapparatus, in order to ensure the utmost sharpness in the X-ray image,

Slide-ways 6, 1, each of which is associated with a control mechanism(not shown) of any desired construction, for instance, of the type shownat 36 in Figure 3, allow of varying the distance between the axis 2-2and the bearing plane of panel 3, in order to adjust the position of thesubject to be photographed, for the purpose hereinafter described.

At the end of a stationary arm 8 there is journalled a shaft 9 to whichthe radioscopic screen W of known type is secured. The lower end of theshaft 9 is secured to a swing-bar H, adapted to slide along twohorizontal rods l2, by means of pivoted end sleeves I3, which can besecured in position by screws [4.

The shaft 9 is also movable in a slide-way I of the arm 8, which isprovided, if necessary, with a device similar to 36 in Figure 3. Owingto the assembly just described, the distance between the radioscopicscreen l0 and the axis 2-2 can be altered as desired.

Opposite the screen In is fixedly mounted in position a photographiccamera l6, provided with a lens 11.

Owing to the properties of the optical selector used for taking theview, properties indicated in particular in my co-pending U. S. A.patent application No. 634,369 filed Dec. 11, 1945, for Combination of alens and a lenticular selector for the recording and reconstitution ofphotographic images, in particular of multiple images on a singlenegative, the lens I! may be given an aperture much smaller than thosehitherto used, without its slight luminosity affecting the rapidity ofthe recording.

In the rear part of the photographic camera l6, there is pivotallymounted a frame H3 in which is placed a special plate-holder to receivethe photo-sensitive surface and the optical lenticular view-takingselector or selectograph. Said plate-holder is described in myco-pending U. S. A. patent application, No. 640,014 filed Jan. 9, 1946,now abandoned, for Negative plate-holder with curtain, for takingnegatives of lined photographs, in particular peri-stereoscopic images.The frame l8 is secured to a vertical shaft l9, at the lower end ofwhich is secured a swing-bar 29, pivoting at the end of rods l2. Thelatter are pivoted at their opposite end to journals 2| of platform 4.Owing to the longitudinal displacements provided for the bearing panel3, said rods are made of variable length, and each of them is providedfor this purpose, for instance, with a connection sleeve 22 providedwith a fixing screw. They may also be arranged to slide in the swing-bar20, which would then be provided with similar sleeves as the swing-barII.

The above device is, of course, used in combination with a Rtintgen lampdiagrammatically illustrated in the figure, and supported in a knownmanner, as in usual radiological apparatus.

The operation of the device hereinbefore described is as follows:

With the selectograph forming a characteristic element incorporated inthe fourfold group above defined, there is associated a separate pivotalmovement of three of the elements of the group, the fourth remainingstationary. In this first form of construction, the subject, the screenl0 and the frame 18, all pivot round their own vertical axis, throughone and the same angle during the view-taking, and so as to alwaysremain parallel to each other. The amplitude of said pivotal movement isnormally equal to the aperture angle of the lenticular elements of theselectograph. As regards the Rontgen lamp,

it remains stationary.

During the recording, the fluorescent image on the screen [0 has anappearance which varies gradually at the same time as the inclination ofthe subject is changed with respect to the direction of the beam ofX-rays. This revolving image is gradually recorded on the sensitivesurface, behind the selectograph, in the form of image elements insertedone between the others and corresponding to the successive aspects ofthe fluorescent image, during the rotation of the subject.

When this compound image, once developed, is examined through aselective grating, or selectoscope, similar to the view-takingselectograph, the visual rays corresponding to both eyes of the observermeet by virtue of the refringent properties of the lenticular elementsof the selectoscope, image elements which correspond respectively to twodifferent angular aspects of the subject, and therefore theselectoradiograph appears in relief.

' The pivotal movement of the screen I0 is necessary in order to avoid adistortion of the image, in the extreme angular positions. However, incases in which said distortion may be considered negligible, theapparatus may be simplified by providing it with a non-pivoting screen10.

It is easy to convert the horizontal apparatus illustrated in Figure 1into an apparatus having a vertical axis.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment, the principle of operation of whichis identical with that of the construction illustrated in Figure l, butin which the relative angular movement of the constituent elements ofthe apparatus forming the four-fold group previously mentioned, isobtained by other means.

In this example, the subject to be X-rayed is placed in the frame I or"the main frame I and, in contradistinction to that which takes place inFigure 1, it remains stationary during the recording. In this case, itis the Rontgen lamp A, the radioscopic screen I!) and the entirephotographic chamber it, which effect a displacement along an arc of acircle, round the axis 2.

The frame 23 of the camera rolls on guiding tracks along an arc of acircle 24, by means of rollers 25 set to move in the required direction.Through the action of a known mechanism, the plate-holder-carrying frame[8 always remains parallel to itself and parallel to the frame I,

by pivoting round the journals is during the movement of the camera l6through an arc of a circle.

An arm. 23 is rigidly secured to the front and rear parts of the cameral6, by means of sleeves provided with fixing screws 21. The radioscopicscreen If! is in its turn, adjustabl mounted along the arm 26, by meansof a sleeve with fixing screw 28; and a similar sleeve 29 allows ofadjusting the position of the lamp A on the If it is considerednecessary to'e'nsure a constant parallelism between the screen Iii andframe I, these two members are-"connected through a suitable expansibleparallel motion device constituted by a first parallel motion linkage3ll,"to the end of which is" pivoted a tically adjustable;

The" operation' 'of this second construction is asfollows: V The-subjectto be x-rayea being placed in the frame -l','theperi-stereoscopic cameraIt is set in motion to effect its recording stroke from one end to theother of its rolling tracks24, thus following an arcuate'path with thepivot 2 as a centre. The arm 26 causes at the same time the screen I andthelainp A to partake in said arcuate movement, which causes, as in thecon struction shown in Figure 1; the appearance on the screen ID ofsuccessive images which correspond to aspects of the subject seen undergradually varying angles.- The recording on the photo-sensitivesurface-effected under these conditions presents'the'same'features-asthat obtained-with the apparatus shown-in Figure l.

Also in this case the axis of the apparatus ma be arranged verticallywithout departing from the scopeof the invention.

Figure '3 illustrates an X-raytable the operax tion of which isidentical with that of the abovedevices, so that it is not necessaryrtodescr-ibe the general arran'gement'thereof in greater detail. All themembers common toth'e' two first embodimentsare to be found-in thisfigure.

However, in this case the selectog'raph is always 'of the type havingspherical lenticular elements or else cylindrical elements crossed at90, in order to produce image elements in the form of points, and theframe 18', in which is placed the special plate-holder containing thisselector and the photo-sensitive surface, is---capable of effecting,after each view-taking, a pivotal movement round a spindle 32perpendicular to the spindle l9. Said movement is controlled, forinstance, by a lever 33, and indicatedon a graduated sector-34 by-meansof an'index-35. The pivotal movement of the selectograph and the photo-sensitiv'e surface round the spindle 32 allows of recording-'on thelatter a plurality of distinct X-ray photographs, this being anapplication of the particular properties of crossed gofferingssetforthin the firstof the co-petiding patentapplicatioiis' alioi errientioned.

This possibility of recording several distinct X-ray photographs on oneand the same negative, the time of development of which is the same asthat of a single X-ray photograph, offers, in addition to the importanteconomy in sensitive surface thus obtained, considerable advantages inthe radiologica1 art. The dispensing with all manipulations of slides,between the recording of the successive views, allows of ensuring anappreciable saving of time.

For the purpose of examination, the developed multiple negative isobserved through a selectoscopeof the sametype as the sieiectagiaprrwhich served for its recording. By simplymoving his head verticallyor byinclining the image round an horizontal axis-the observer willsuccessively see the various X-ray photographs, which have been recordedon one and the same negative, and they will appear in relief. Thesoundness of the practitioner's diagnosis can be appreciably increasedby this comparative examination of multiple X-ray photographs,corresponding, for instance, to a succession of different incidence ofthe beam of X-rays. V

The freedom of movement ofthe bearing panel of Figure 1, or of the tableof Figure 3, relatively to the pivotal axis 2 allows of displacing, to acertain extent, the subject relatively to the plane of the imageobtainable. In fact, the parts of the subject located in front of thepivot 2 relatively to the screen ill will appear in front of the planeof the image and, vice versa, thejparts of the subject located beyondthe pivot 2 relatively to the screen will seem to be beyond the plane ofthe image. Now, it may be an advantage to cause the plane of the imageto coincide with a Welldetermined planeof the subject, and the slideways6, 7, associated with the mechanism 36, allow this very adjustment to beeffected. Said device thus allows of choosing. at will the. main planeof the selectoradiograph.

So far, mention has been made only of a pivotal movement of theselectograph and of the photo-sensitive layer, in order to obtain theselection of the successive images, said movement corresponding totherelative angular displacement obtained between the subject and thedirection of the beam of X-rays. However, it is also possible, withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, to substitute for saidangular movement, a sliding movement of one of the said two elementsrelatively to the other, which movement is obtained in the known manner,and ensures, as is well known, the same selective action as the angularmovement referred to. The negatives obtained by means of the threedifferent apparatus described and illustrated have a common featurenamely, that they contain a plurality of images, the elements of whichare either lined, or punctiform, and are always interposed between eachother. Said negatives have the property of being visible in relief alonga certain observation base, when they are covered with a selectoscope,that is to say, with a suitable observation screen, and supply an imagein perfect relief of the X-rayed subject, viz. an image the appearanceand perspective of which are evolved as in reality, when the observedmoves transversely in front of the image.

The negatives obtained as just explained, may be printed by contact, inthe usual manner, in order to supply positive proofs also observablewith the same relief, whenthey are covered with a selectoscope. Saidproofs can be obtained either on glass plates, in order to givetransparent images, or on paper, to supply images observable byreflection.

It is to be understood that the characteristic features hereinbeforedescribed and illustrated with reference to some of the constructionsmay be incorporated in any of the others, and that the constructions maybe modified in various ways without departing from the scope of theinvention.

Having now particularly described and ascer- 7 5 tained the nature of mysaid invention, and in axes parallel to the axes of the lenses and roundwhich the support and the photo-sensitive surface are respectivelyadapted to pivot in unison during the view-taking.

2. An apparatus for producing radiographic relief pictures, comprising astationary X-ray tube, a support for the subject to be X-rayed, afiuorescent screen, a photosensitive surface, a selective gratingrigidly carried by said surface and constituted by adjacent cylindricallenses, means for focusing the fluorescent picture on to thephotosensitive surface, and axes parallel to the axes of the lenses andround which the support, the screen and the photosensitive surface arerespectively adapted to pivot during the view taking.

3. An apparatus for producing radiographic relief pictures, comprising astationary X-ray tube, a support for the subject to be X-rayed, a,fluorescent screen, a photosensitive surface, a selective gratingrigidly carried by said surface and constituted by adjacent cylindricallenses, means for focusing the fluorescent picture on to thephotosensitive surface, three stationary axes parallel to the axes ofthe lenses and round which the support, the screen, and thephoto-sensitive sur face are respectively adapted to pivot during theview taking, and a parallel motion system coupling the support, thescreen, and photo-sensitive surface, and constraining said support,screen, and photo-sensitive surface to remain constantly parallel to oneanother.

4. An apparatus for producing radiographic relief pictures, comprising astationary X-ray tube, a support for the subject to be X-rayed, afluorescent screen, a photosensitive surface, a selective gratingrigidly carried by said surface and constituted by adjacent cylindricallenses, means for focusing the fluorescent picture on to thephoto-sensitive surface, three stationary axes parallel to the axes ofthe lenses and round which the support, the screen and thephotosensitive surface are respectively adapted to pivot during the viewtaking, a parallel motion system coupling the support, the screen, andphoto-sensitive surface and constraining said support, screen andphotosensitive surface to remain constantly parallel to one another, andmeans for adjusting the length of the parallel motion connecting thesupport with the screen.

5. An apparatus for producing radiographic relief pictures, comprising astationary X-ray tube, a support for the subject to be X-rayed, afluorescent screen, a photosensitive surface, a selective gratingrigidly carried by said surface and constituted by adjacent cylindricallenses, means for focusing the fluorescent picture on to the.photosensitive surface, three stationary axes parallel to the axes ofthe lenses and round which the support, the screen and thephotosensitive surface are respectively adapted to pivot during theview-taking, and means for adjustin the distance between the support andthe pivoting axis thereof.

6. An apparatus for producing radiographic relief pictures, comprisingan X-ray tube, a stationary support for the subject to be X-rayed, afluorescent screen, a photosensitive surface located in a photographiccamera which comprises a lens for focusing the fluorescent picture ontosaid photosensitive surface, a selective grating, rigidly carried by apivoted frame supporting said photosensitive surface, an arm rigidlysecured to the camera in parallelism with the optical axis thereof, avertical frame rigid with the support,

. means whereby said arm is adapted to rock in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to said frame, means whereby the screen is longitudinallyslidable over and secured to said arm, and means whereby the X-ray tubeis longitudinally slidable over and secured to the arm beyond the framewith reference to the screen and camera.

7. An apparatus for producing radiographic relief pictures, comprisingan X-ray tube, a stationary support for the subject to be X-rayed, afluorescent screen, a photosensitive surface located in a photographiccamera which comprises a lens for focusing the fluorescent picture ontosaid photosensitive surface, a selective grating rigidly carried by apivoted frame supporting said photosensitive surface, an arm rigidlysecured to the camera in parallelism with the optical axis thereof, avertical frame rigid with the support, means whereby said arm ispivotally secured to said frame, means whereby the screen islongitudinally slidable over and secured to said arm, means whereby theX-ray tube is longitudinally slidable over and secured to the arm beyondthe frame with reference to the screen and camera, and connecting linksof adjustable length pivotally connecting the screen with the stationaryframe and adapted to keep said screen parallel with said frame duringthe rocking of the arm.

MAURICE BONNET.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,029,300 Arfsten Feb. 4, 19362,110,953 Grossmann Mar. 15, 1933 2,353,145 Chamberlain, Jr. July 11,1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 449,213 Great Britain June 23,1936 554,699 Great Britain July 15, 1943

